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Date: 5/2/2023
SPRINGFIELD — The City Council Casino Oversight Committee received an update from MGM Springfield during an April 25 meeting.
MGM President Chris Kelley noted that it has been a little over a year since the city of Springfield lifted COVID-19 restrictions on the last day of February 2022. When the casino shut down from March to July 2020, it lost most of its work force.
From November 2020 to January 2021, a curfew was implemented, with a daily closure of 9:30 p.m. Once the curfew was lifted, masking and other precautions were mandated up until February 2022.
As a business, Kelley said this had an impact on their primary revenue stream with a $120 million loss during that time, most of which was during the four-month closure.
“To have a comeback you have to first start with a setback,” said Kelley.
He noted that there has been a “steady march” of reopening, rehiring and growing since the property shut down.
In the first quarter of 2023, Kelley said MGM Springfield passed $1 billion in revenue. Since opening, MGM Springfield has contributed $364 million in city and state payments.
Some of the changes to MGM Springfield this year include the addition of lunch at TAP Sports Bar Thursday through Sunday, the expansion of TAP Bowling’s operations to seven days a week, the implementation of weekend hours at the Topgolf Swing Lounge that are open to everyone with no reservation required and the expansion of Costa’s hours with the addition of Sunday dining at the casino’s on-site Italian restaurant.
In January, MGM was the first in the state to open a sportsbook, with mobile betting added about a month later, Kelley said.
In terms of employment, the total number of gaming establishment employees is 1,480. Kelley said this increased from a low of 94 active members during COVID-19. He noted that most employees are from Springfield.
On Jan. 20, MGM Resorts International CEO William Hornbuckle joined Kelley, Mayor Domenic Sarno and Ward 2 City Councilor Michael Fenton for a meeting on the state of MGM Springfield. At that time, they believed the casino had not met its job projections. An independent report of the economic impacts of the casino’s first year of operation prepared the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institure’s Economic and Public Policy Research Group stated that, upon opening, MGM Springfield employed just over 3,000 employees but that number fell by just over 30 percent during the first year of operation.
In January, the casino employed 1,400 people and had 290 open positions. Based on those numbers, Hornbuckle believes that an employee base of 2,000 workers is a more realistic goal for the casino.
Currently, there are over 200 open positions at MGM. Kelley said the openings span across every element such as part time, full time and so on. The largest need is for food and beverage employees as there is a “high level of turnover,” he added.
MGM’s employee benefits include health insurance, dental insurance, paid time off, 401(k) savings plan, 529 college savings, wellness programs and more.
Kelley shared that Director of Community Affairs Beth Ward works to creatively change the roles that they have along with advertising those roles.
“We love to hire local … That is the goal,” Kelley said.
Every week, MGM hosts a hiring event. This includes mass hiring where individuals can be interviewed and offered jobs on the spot.
He went on to say that they are looking for ways to tell stories of their team members. This year, they started “team member highlights” and featured Zakeya Scott. Scott was a homeless mother who worked through the local community college system.
After learning culinary skills, she came to MGM Springfield as a day one team member, has been promoted several times and was able to purchase her first home last year. Scott now serves as a sous chef at MGM. Stories like Scott’s will be published on a quarterly basis in hopes of inspiring others to join the team as well, said Kelley.
Looking at the second quarter of 2023, Kelley said the Lobby Bar will reopen on Friday and Saturdays, The Chandler Steakhouse will have expanded days and hours with the addition of Thursdays and the casino will offer a season of MGM’s Free Music Fridays concert series. A working group will also be formed to address the former Kringle Candle space.
Another new amenity at MGM will include the addition of an outdoor pool bar.
Ward went on to discuss volunteerism and several of MGM’s local partnerships. Some of the partnerships include Habitat for Humanity and Spirit of Springfield.
She also shared photos from special events such as Free Music Fridays, Springfield Thunderbirds watch parties at the plaza, marching in the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade and more.
MGM Springfield along with its partners — MassMutual Center and Springfield Symphony Hall — have several events slated for 2023 including comedy shows, musical performances and other live entertainment. The lineup includes The Temptations and the Four Tops at Symphony Hall on May 21, Bruno Mars will be performing back-to-back nights – June 11 and 12 – at the MassMutual Center and comedian Bill Burr will return to the venue on Aug. 12, to name a few.